Driven by her own brand of servant leadership, former Head of Engineering for the Royal Australian Navy, Katherine Richards AM HonFIEAust CPEng reflects on how lifelong learning and curiosity are key to driving a leadership mindset in the profession.
What motivated you to become Chief Engineer?
When I was first approached to consider the role, I was genuinely humbled. When I thought about it though, what resonated with me most was that this was not a departure from my path but a natural continuation of a lifelong commitment to service.
For 36 years, I served the nation through building the engineering profession in the navy. I see this role as a natural extension of that, albeit at a different scale and with a different breadth. It’s an opportunity to serve the broader engineering profession and to support civilian engineers tackling the complex challenges of our time.
While the scale and the setting are different from defence, the purpose is familiar: to be of service, to help people thrive, and to build a stronger, more resilient Australia. This role allows me to connect with members, understand their day-to-day challenges, and support them in realising the practical, often nation-defining, solutions they are working towards. That’s an incredibly motivating proposition.
How do you see your defence experience in high-stakes, operational engineering shaping your approach to the challenges facing civilian engineers in Australia?
Oh, yes. The navy gave me experience in some of the most high-stakes engineering environments imaginable. Whether it was warship maintenance or marine systems design, there was always pressure – deadlines, legal and safety constraints, limited resources – and, sometimes, lives on the line. That context sharpens your focus and teaches you resilience, but, more importantly, it teaches you how to deliver under constraint.
Military and civilian engineering are different in many ways but share the same fundamental principles. You must deliver outcomes on time and to standard, with integrity and precision.
At all times, engineers are bound by standards, regulations, finite resources and external pressures.
What I bring from my military experience is an ability to navigate complexity – to see the bigger picture while managing details. I’ve learned how to keep teams aligned on purpose, even in high-pressure environments, and how to find practical ways forward through seemingly intractable problems.
These are transferrable skills, and I believe they’re highly relevant to the civilian engineering workforce in Australia, which is facing enormous challenges – from infrastructure renewal to climate resilience. We need to help engineers feel confident, prepared and supported in tackling them.
Read more: Engineer Mona Shindy on what serving in the navy taught her
You’ve been called a pioneer in naval engineering and a trailblazer for women in technical roles. What leadership lessons do you bring from the navy that you think are vital for Australia’s engineering future?
Over the years, I’ve come to see that the most effective leaders are those who are willing to challenge the status quo because they genuinely believe in creating space for everyone to contribute. As one of the few women to rise through technical leadership in the navy, I had to navigate systems that weren’t designed with people like me in mind. That journey has shaped my perspective on the kind of leadership our profession needs now.
One of the first things we must do is redefine what’s considered “normal”. It should be completely normal to walk into a meeting room and see engineers of all genders, backgrounds and ethnicities at the table. That diversity shouldn’t be aspirational – it should be a given. But to get there, we have to be honest about the barriers that still exist. Sometimes those are systemic; other times, they’re cultural – like the absence of role models or outdated perceptions of what an engineer looks like.
We also need to foster the idea that engineers are leaders, not just problem solvers. Too often, we separate technical excellence from leadership capability. But in truth, leadership is at the heart of good engineering. It’s about empathy, listening and creating the conditions for others to thrive. I want to help instil that mindset – that being a leader means taking action, not being a bystander. That leadership lives on the workshop floor, in the site meeting, in the design review. Each of us has a role to play in shaping the future of the profession.
What are the most pressing engineering challenges Australia is facing?
I see three core challenges, and they’re deeply interconnected.
First, we must build national climate resilience. We’re already feeling the effects of a changing climate, and engineers are at the forefront of both mitigating and adapting to those impacts. That includes everything from bushfire-resistant infrastructure to coastal protection and climate-smart urban planning. Our built environment must evolve quickly and intelligently to withstand what’s coming.
Second, the energy transformation is absolutely critical. As we move towards a renewable energy future, engineers are the ones redesigning our power grids, implementing storage solutions, and ensuring energy reliability. This transformation isn’t just technical – it’s also social and economic. We need to ensure a just transition for engineers currently working in coal or gas. That means reskilling and redeploying talent so no one is left behind.
Third, we must strengthen advanced manufacturing in Australia. We have some of the world’s best researchers and inventors, but we don’t always convert that brilliance into domestic manufacturing capability. Whether it’s submarines, medical devices or renewables technology, we have to get better at creating and sustaining local industry. That requires a systems view – government settings, education, infrastructure and investment all need to align.
And underpinning all three is sustainability. I think we need to be clear about how we define sustainability in the engineering context. For me, sustainability is principally about respecting the resources that go into a problem. It’s about extracting their maximum value in a way that minimises harm to people and the environment.
For example, you can’t have grid transformation without mining for rare earths. But we need to ensure that we do this in the most respectful, sustainable way.
Sustainability is not just environmental; it’s financial, social and ethical too.
What are the values that have guided you through your career and how will they help in your new role?
One word really captures it: respect. Respect for each other. Respect for our differences. Respect for our wonderful Earth. As engineers, we have to embrace complexity and find a pathway through it. And if we use respect as a guardrail then whatever pathway we find through it will generally be a good one.
I always try to listen before I speak and to value the perspectives of others, even when they challenge me. In engineering, as in life, that kind of mutual respect is what creates trust, and trust is what enables collaboration and innovation.
I also believe deeply in lifelong learning. When the AUKUS program was announced, I decided I needed to be ready. So I found myself back at uni studying quantum physics at 54. That experience reminded me that there’s always more to know.
The gift of lifelong learning as a mindset is it makes you curious. Engineering is about creating. But to create effectively we start with curiosity; fuel it with learning, and ground it in respect. That’s the mindset I’m bringing to this role, and I hope it resonates with the members I’m here to serve.
What impact do you hope to have as Chief Engineer?
That’s a big question and one I’m very careful about answering, because I don’t believe impact is something you declare for yourself. It’s something judged in the experience of others.
This is a service role. And so I’ll put myself in the hands of our membership. I’ll know the impact I’ve had when I leave the organisation, not by what I say, but by what others say about me.
What matters is whether I can help create conditions in which engineers across the country feel empowered to lead, to innovate and to build a better nation.
For me, I want the profession to feel more connected, confident and future-ready because of the work I do in this role. If members tell me that Engineers Australia listened to them, supported them, challenged them to grow and represented them authentically, then I’ll know I’ve done something right.
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Welcome to Engineers Australia Katherine. I am hoping and praying that you will take some time to ensure that the urgent topic of nuclear energy will be given some prominence and highlight the lies that have been pushed by the Labor Party.
Unfortunately we are now faced with another 3 years of zero consideration of lifting the nuclear ban so that market forces can show Australia that we have been lied to for too long. Engineers Australia has been a party to this deceitful path forwards with ‘renewables’ with no facts based information provided which is so destructive and unhelpful to educating the Australian people.
I look forward to your leadership to get the truth of this subject out into the open as it is one of our most important issues right now with power costs likely to rise to unrealistic values over the next few years.
Welcome to Engineers Australia, Katherine.
I enjoyed reading the recent article and especially appreciated your thoughtful response to the question, “What impact do you hope to have as Chief Engineer?”
Your perspective reflects the kind of leadership that is vital in a member-based organisation. I hope we’ll have the opportunity to connect soon to discuss issues of importance to the profession and the community.
Best regards,